Help please! Woke up randomly with red cheeks and a million little holes on them.

[david6677]

Ok, a little back info. I'm 22 right now, but when I was 19, I woke up one day and my cheeks were little red and had a crap load of holes completely covering my cheeks, at first they weren't that too noticeable, but they have gotten bigger and rougher and way more noticeable over the past few years. I guess they're "open pores?" And I know everyone has pores, but these don't look like normal pores, they looking like someone took a needle and just started poking all over my cheeks with them. And you don't just have perfect skin for your first 19 years of your life and just wake up one day and bam, open pores all over. And like I said, my cheeks are red and they weren't before so obviously they're connected.

It can't be related to acne, because I NEVER get acne. Ok, nobody never gets acne lol, but I've never had an acne problem whatsoever, like, I'll get maybe one or two tiny little pimples every now and then that go away fast like humans. But point is, it's not acne related.

Like I said, I never had a skin issue ever until this happened at 19. Some info that will also help is I'm a Chinese American male. It's also not heredity because both of my parents have flawless skin, they're in their 50's and still have poreless looking skin, like they have some of the best skin I've ever seen for someone in their 50's, which makes this condition even more insulting lol.

Oh yeah, I do remember when I was 16, I got these same holes on my skin, BUT it was on my forehead and not cheeks and very noticeable, my classmates were pointing it out...but get this, after a week they completely vanished without any treatment, my forehead is as smooth as baby's butt...very strange, I know. I can't even say that's related lol.

One more little info that might help, I did notice as soon as I woke up that dreadful day to this condition, I noticed some little red veins right under my nose when I was examining, they're not noticeable unless I'm looking very close up in the mirror...but they're related as I never had those little red veins under my nose until that day with the red cheeks and pores, the veins are still there today.

I tried some over the counter stuff that targets large pores and redness but no luck, so finally, not too long ago I went to see a derm and he couldn't EXACTLY say what I had but he strongly believes it was a low grade of rosacea. Gave me some over the counter stuff, and a prescription for Metronidazole cream and Doxycyline pills, this was over quite a few visits and they all did nothing. Yeah, it's the worst when a doctor isn't sure what you have. I've blown too much money on those visits to him and for nothing pretty much. I don't think it's rosacea, I mean, I can recognize rosacea when I see it and I've never seen anyone with the same condition I have, and I mean anyone lol.

And now I'm hoping for a miracle doctor on these forums lol.

Here's a picture (recent ones, the condition didn't look this bad at 19):
http://s3.amazonaws.com/f01.justanswer.com/JACUSTOMER1wzmonqi/2012-08-22_124827_374.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/f01.justanswer.com/JACUSTOMER1wzmonqi/2012-08-22_124713_370.jpg


Oh, and yes, I know I have some seborrheic dermatitis too, but thankfully those are gone now. I didn't have seborrheic dermatitis when I was 19 with the red holes. Those were recent and a first...and hopefully a last.

But as you can see, cheeks are red and those "pores" don't look normal!

I'm not too computer savvy, but sorry if these pics turn out HUGE, they are normal size on my browser. If you are using chrome, just right click on the pic and then "open in new tab" and it should open in the normal size!

[Dr.Deepak]

Welcome to the forum David. From the pics and the detail history u have mentioned, it looks like mild cases of rosacea associated with seborrheic dermatitis.Yea rosacea is a harmless skin condition, but it cannot be cured, can be controlled.

If you are unsure about the condition its better to get a second opinion from another dermatologist personally.

Some people have inherited enlarged pores, while some gets acquired due to rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis.When your have seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea, your skin gets inflammed, as a result pores also gets enlarged. Pores are the opening of oil glands and hair follicles, so when there is excess sebum production (due to infection or several other causes) the pores gets enlarged.

You are in your early twenties so these pores may be minimized, but after thirties your pores usually remains large and impossible to minimize (as your skin loses elasticity after 30).

Try to avoid exfoliating products as it can irritate your skin. Always look for hypo-allergic and fragrance free products for your face.There are several products that can help minimize your pores, like abrasive chemical peels, dermabarsion but this might not be suitable for people with rosacea like you. Regular use of sunscreen containing zinc oxide has helped reduce the pores and rosacea in many people, you may give it a try. Laser therapy looks promising for rosacea and enlarged pores, talk to your dermatologist for this option.

You still have seborrheic dermatitis (SB),so focus on treating SB, rosacea and enlarged pores will improve with the clearance of SB. Avoid foods, drinks, emotional stress and activities that can aggravate your facial flushing.

You may get a second opinion from another dermatologist and talk about laser options for treating your enlarged pores.

[david6677]

Welcome to the forum David. From the pics and the detail history u have mentioned, it looks like mild cases of rosacea associated with seborrheic dermatitis.Yea rosacea is a harmless skin condition, but it cannot be cured, can be controlled.

If you are unsure about the condition its better to get a second opinion from another dermatologist personally.

Some people have inherited enlarged pores, while some gets acquired due to rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis.When your have seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea, your skin gets inflammed, as a result pores also gets enlarged. Pores are the opening of oil glands and hair follicles, so when there is excess sebum production (due to infection or several other causes) the pores gets enlarged.

You are in your early twenties so these pores may be minimized, but after thirties your pores usually remains large and impossible to minimize (as your skin loses elasticity after 30).

Try to avoid exfoliating products as it can irritate your skin. Always look for hypo-allergic and fragrance free products for your face.There are several products that can help minimize your pores, like abrasive chemical peels, dermabarsion but this might not be suitable for people with rosacea like you. Regular use of sunscreen containing zinc oxide has helped reduce the pores and rosacea in many people, you may give it a try. Laser therapy looks promising for rosacea and enlarged pores, talk to your dermatologist for this option.

You still have seborrheic dermatitis (SB),so focus on treating SB, rosacea and enlarged pores will improve with the clearance of SB. Avoid foods, drinks, emotional stress and activities that can aggravate your facial flushing.

You may get a second opinion from another dermatologist and talk about laser options for treating your enlarged pores.

Thanks for taking the time to read and giving your opinion. I'm gonna look to see what other options as laser will have to be a last resort! In the meantime, do you mind moving my thread back to the general discussion in case someone else has a different opinion?